Inside the breakfast diner, Kairon took that tangled, unnameable mess of emotions swirling in his chest and took it all out on the croissant, bacon, and eggs set before him.

  Lenora sipped her pumpkin soup, a faint, constant smile playing on her lips as she watched him. Every time their eyes met, she'd stick her tongue out at him playfully.

  The other patrons kept glancing over at the mismatched pair, quietly speculating about their relationship.

  Kairon had never felt more awkward in his entire life. The second he finished the last bite of egg, he all but fled the diner, hurrying toward the door.

  To his surprise, Lenora hurried after him, sliding her hand right into the crook of his arm. She tilted her head up to smile at him and asked, "Kairon, do you ever get a sense of déjà vu?"

  Her intimate gesture made Kairon's heart skip a beat, and a cold prickle ran down his spine a split second later. Every man in the vicinity who'd glanced their way was now staring at him with unmistakable hostility in their gazes.

  "Uh..." Kairon's mind went blank, completely lost for words.

  Lenora studied him like that for a couple of seconds, then let go of his arm, still smiling. "Think on it. I've got to head to campus to study now."

  With that, she hopped backward a couple of steps, waving at him. "Oh, and Kairon? My name's Lenora Everhart."

  "Lenora Everhart..."

  Kairon froze on the spot. In his past life, everyone had just called her Lenora. She'd never told him her full name before.

  But the name was strangely familiar, like he'd heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't for the life of him place it.

  He watched her retreating figure, glancing back to wave at him every few steps, and hurriedly waved back, silently telling her to be careful on the way.

  It was good, being alive again.

  With her gone, Kairon didn't care about his rumpled, casual clothes anymore. He hailed a taxi and headed straight for the official brick-and-mortar Eldrath Corporation store.

  He had to hand it to them, the staff at the Eldrath store were incredibly professional. They didn't treat him with even a hint of disdain for his casual clothes, greeting him warmly and walking him through the price points and features of every product.

  When Kairon made it clear he was looking for a gaming pod with top-of-the-line safety features, the sales associate immediately led him up to the second floor, to the dedicated gaming pod showroom.

  Even the cheapest gaming pod in here started at 100,000 Credit.

  Even the base model headset for World of Eldrath delivered 100% immersion. The core difference between models came down entirely to input responsiveness.

  The Model 207 headset Lenora had given him, for example, wasn't a base model, but it was far from top-of-the-line. It had a market price of around 5,000 Credit, with roughly 68% input responsiveness. Even the most basic gaming pod in the showroom, by contrast, boasted 92% input responsiveness.

  In the late game, pro players weren't just competing on mechanics and skill anymore. The right hardware was just as critical to securing a win.

  In the end, Kairon settled on the XVI-701 model gaming pod.

  Its entire frame was forged from a specialized alloy capable of withstanding the water pressure at 3,000 meters below sea level.

  Its shock absorption system would prevent any fatal injury to the occupant inside, even if the pod fell from a 100-story building.

  The pod door was made of bulletproof glass, rumored to be impervious even to sniper fire. Kairon couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  It came with a self-contained backup power system, capable of keeping the entire unit running for a full week in the event of a power outage.

  If it detected an external attack, it would automatically dial emergency services. 32 high-definition cameras mounted on the pod's exterior would record the assailant from every angle, with the footage synced directly to a professional security system.

  On top of that, it had a standalone oxygen generation system. As long as the backup battery had a charge, it could shield the occupant from nearly all fatal threats, including poison gas, open fire, and drowning, for up to a week.

  Add in the global satellite tracking system, and the pod was nothing short of a small, mobile fortified bunker, save for the lack of offensive capabilities.

  What mattered most to Kairon, though, was its zero-latency emergency logoff feature. If the player was forced to disconnect due to a real-world emergency, their in-game character would log off instantly, with zero delay.

  In his past life, he'd been attacked in the real world, and the 10-second logoff delay on his headset had gotten his in-game character killed. The Wishing Box had dropped on his death, and that had been the start of his downfall.

  But the price made Kairon wince. A full 560,000 Credit. The 600,000 Credit he'd just deposited was about to be almost completely wiped out.

  The only downside he found was that the pod's input responsiveness capped at 92%, on par with the base model gaming pods. Luckily, it could be upgraded later down the line.

  Even if it couldn't, Eldrath offered a trade-in program. Old models could be traded in for a minimum of 80% of their original value toward a new unit. He had to admit that the level of after-sales service was incredibly customer-friendly.

  Kairon gritted his teeth and paid the full amount upfront, but when the sales associate asked for the delivery address, he was hit with a wave of awkwardness.

  The pod he'd picked was 3.5 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 1.8 meters tall. The tiny apartment he was currently renting didn't have nearly enough space to fit it.

  "I'll let you know the address once I've got it finalized."

  "Of course, sir. We're available 24/7. The second you confirm your address, we'll deliver and complete the full installation and calibration within two hours."

  Kairon was stuck the second he walked out of the Eldrath store. The only way forward was to find a new place to live. He only had a little over 40,000 Credit left in his pocket, so buying a place was out of the question. He'd have to rent a bigger apartment for the time being.

  But the thought of moving made him hesitate, reluctant to leave Lenora next door. In his past life, with Liora in the game, they'd never put a label on whatever they had. But everything that should have happened, and everything that shouldn't have, had already happened long ago.

  After a moment's hesitation, he pulled out his phone and called Lenora.

  "Hello?" Lenora's clear, soft voice came through the line.

  "Lenora, it's me."

  "Kairon? How'd you get my phone number?" Lenora asked, her voice thick with surprise.

  "Uh... that's not important right now." Kairon had forgotten that in this life, they'd never exchanged contact info. "Are you busy right now? There's something I want to talk to you about."

  "I just got to campus, not super busy. I was supposed to study with a classmate, but I can let her know I'll be a minute."

  "Want me to come to you?"

  "No need, just wait for me at the west gate of the campus."

  "Alright, see you in half an hour." With that, he hung up.

  Ten minutes later, the taxi pulled up to the west gate of the campus. Kairon got out and spotted Lenora waiting for him by the gate from a distance.

  She must have headed straight for the gate the second she hung up the phone. He'd said half an hour, and here she was, already waiting.

  "Have you had a crush on me this whole time?"

  Kairon had just walked up, about to greet her, when the out-of-the-blue question made him stumble, nearly tripping over his own feet.

  "Huh?"

  "Either that, or you're a stalker." Lenora crossed her arms, tilting her chin up at him, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Otherwise, how else would you know my name and my phone number?"

  "Uh..." Kairon's mind went blank again, and just as he was about to explain, he saw tears welling up in Lenora's eyes.

  "I didn't take you for that kind of guy. What, did Virella dump you, so now you're setting your sights on me?"

  This misunderstanding had just spiraled way out of control.

  Kairon was floundering, completely at a loss for what to do, when it suddenly clicked, and he shot back a question. "How do you know about Virella?"

  The second the words left his mouth, a flash of panic crossed Lenora's face. She quickly turned her head away, refusing to look at him anymore.

  "Hmph. It's not important."

  Kairon couldn't help but smile at her little act. This girl was even using his own lines against him.

  "Alright, it's not important." The smile faded from his face, and he looked her dead in the eye, his voice serious. "But what if I told you... I came back from the future? Would you believe me?"

  He didn't know why he'd said it. He just couldn't bring himself to lie to her, even if the truth sounded utterly ridiculous.

  The second the words left his mouth, his stomach flipped. He was terrified she'd think he'd just made up the most absurd excuse possible to cover his tracks.

  Sure enough, the second she heard it, Lenora turned back to him, staring straight into his eyes.

  "Uh... more accurately, I was reborn... Would you... Believe that?" Staring back at her, Kairon felt an unaccountable flutter of nervousness in his chest.

  Lenora shook her head at first, paused for two seconds, then gave a slow, small nod.